Antiballistic fabric

ABSTRACT

An antiballistic fabric comprises a first fabric ply made of two outer fabric layers separated by at least one inner fabric layer, each of the layers being constructed only from weft fibers laid at angles between about +30 and −30 degrees from the warp and the fibers of the outer layer form non-complementary angles with the fibers of the inner layers, the layers being knitted together in the z-direction. A second equivalent fabric ply is aligned and bound above the first fabric ply.

RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/318,407, filed on Jun. 27, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,494,387, whichclaims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/840,471, filed Jun. 28, 2013, the disclosures of each ofwhich being incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to fabric manufactures, such as soft andhard body armor, vests, life protective systems, and anti-ballisticsystems which may adorn individuals or constructs so as to resistoncoming projectiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART

Without adequate protection, individuals exposed to contact fromincoming objects in the form of bullets, shrapnel, or otherhigh-velocity projectiles stand to be injured, permanentlyincapacitated, or killed. The art has since provided many forms ofprotection to such individuals in the way of protective coatings, bodyarmor, and other forms of anti-ballistic wear.

Protective coatings and body armor, for example, are subjected totesting to determine their effectiveness in withstanding projectilepenetration. An exemplary form of tests are those which identifyantiballistic performance according to standards, for example, those ofthe National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Testing conducted pursuant toNIJ standards identify speeds of projectiles that achieve penetration ofthe sample, backface deformation, and other performance characteristics.

According to NIJ Standard 0101.06, body armor may be classified into sixspecific types, based on the level of ballistic protection performance.The first four of these armor levels, Types I, II-A, II, and III-A,protect against handgun threats and are typically soft armor protectivevests worn on a regular basis. Types III and IV, on the other hand, aretypically hard armor that protects against the highest threats. For eachof the threat levels, the armor must not only defeat a specifiedprojectile type and number of shots, but also must limit a depth ofdeformation (backface deformation, backface signature, of “Bfs”) in aclay backing behind the armor to 44 mm or less.

The NIJ Type II-A provides protection, for example, against a 9 mm fullmetal jacketed bullet impacting at 1225 feet/second and a 0.40 S&W fullmetal jacketed bulled impacting at 1155 feet/second. The NIJ Type IIstandard provides protection, for example, against a 357 Magnumimpacting at 1430 feet/second, and a 9 mm full metal jacketed bulletimpacting at 1305 feet/second. The NIJ Type III-A armor standardrequires the highest protection level for handgun threats. It providesprotection, for example, against 44 Magnum lead semi-jacketed hollowpoint bullets, impacting at a velocity of 1430 feet/second or less, and357 Magnum impacting at a velocity of 1470 feet/second or less. An armorsatisfying the Type III-A standard also provides protection against thelesser threat levels, Type I, Type II-A, and Type II.

NIJ Types III and IV are for high-powered ball and armor piercingprojectiles, respectively, and are typically used during tacticaloperations where higher protection is required. Type III armor protectsagainst 7.62 mm full metal jacketed bullets (U.S. military designationM80) impacting at a velocity of 2780 feet/second or less, whileproviding protection against the lesser NIJ armor level threats. Type IVarmor protects against 30 caliber armor piercing rounds impacting atvelocity of 2880 feet/second.

It is known to create ballistic resistant garments made from wovenfabric. Woven fabric armors may be more flexible, concealable, andwearable than the vests using reinforced plastic. Woven vests may becharacterized by their weight per unit area (areal density). Forexample, aramid fabrics that meet NIJ Level III-A requirements have beendesigned with areal densities on the order of 1.2 pound per square foot.While satisfactory to meet the NIJ standards, these large arealdensities are not suitable because of their heavy weight.

Therefore, there is a need to provide an antiballistic fabric that canachieve adequate protection against projectiles while maintaining lowareal density, comfort, and flexibility for the individual form whom itis designed.

SUMMARY

An antiballistic fabric may be comprised of at least two fabric layersbound atop one another, each comprised of two outer fabric layersseparated by at least one inner fabric layer. The two outer fabriclayers and the at least one inner fabric layer are constructed only fromweft fibers oriented at angles between about +30 and −30 degrees fromthe warp. The angle of the weft fibers of at least one of the two outerfabric layers does not form a complementary angle with the weft fibersof at least one of the inner fabric layers. The layers of the fabriclayers are knitted together in the z-direction.

The antiballistic fabric may further comprise an intermediary layerbetween the first and a second fabric plies that may be a resin,polymer, thermoplastic, or thermoset. For example, the intermediarylayer may be a polymer veil.

The antiballistic fabric may comprised of a plurality of fabric layersequivalent to one of the first and a second fabric plies disposed andaligned between the first and a second fabric plies.

The fabric layers of the antiballistic fabric may be comprised of fourfabric layers of which an upper layer, an upper-intermediate layer, abottom-intermediate layer, and a bottom layer, are angled at +60 degreesfrom the warp, −45 degrees from the warp, +45 degrees from the warp, and−30 degrees from the warp, respectively.

The fabric layers of the antiballistic fabric may be oriented atop oneanother at an angle such that the lower-most outer fabric layer of onefabric layer is rotated at an angle to the upper-most outer fabric layerof another fabric layer at an angle selected from the group consistingof +60 degrees, +30 degrees, −30 degrees, and −60 degrees.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary topographic view of an exemplarymulti-axial knitting machine.

FIG. 2 illustrates a profile view of an exemplary knitting system for anexemplary multi-axial knitting.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary cross section of an antiballisticfabric.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary stacking arrangement of multipleantiballistic fabrics.

FIG. 5 is a collection of test results for exemplary embodiments ofantiballistic fabric.

FIG. 6 is a collection of test results for exemplary embodiments ofantiballistic fabric that use woven fabric, not polymer, as anintermediate between exemplary plies.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, an exemplary fiberlaying apparatus 100 may take the form of any type of multi-axialweaving machinery to manufacture anti-ballistic fabric from any one ormore desirable fibers known to those skilled in the art.

Exemplary types of fibers suitable for use may be, for example, aramidfibers (such as those manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours andCompany, of Wilmington, Del. under the trade name KEVLAR®, by TeijinAramid B. V. of the Netherlands under the trade name TWARON®, by Hyosongof Seoul, Korea, or by Teijin Techno Products Limited, of Japan underthe trade name TECHNORA®); para-aramid fibers such as poly (p-phenyleneterephthalamide) (PPD-T) L poly-phenylene benzobizoxazole (PBO) fibers(such as those manufactured by Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan under the tradename ZYLON®); high molecular weight polyethylene fibers (such as thosemanufactured by Allied Signal, Inc. of Morristown, N.J. under the tradename SPECTRA SHIELD™); ultra heavy molecular weight poly ethylene(UHMWPE) fibers (such as those manufactured by Honeywell Internationalof Morristown, N.J. under the trade name SPECTRA® and manufactured byDSM High Performance Fibers B. V. of the Netherlands under the tradename DYNEEMA®);poly{2,6-diimidazo[4,5-b:4′,5′-e]-pyridinylene-1,4(2,5-dihydroxy)phenylene}(PIPD) fibers (such as those manufactured by Magellan SystemsInternational, LLC of Bethesda, Md. under the trade name M5®); aromaticpolyester fibers (such as the type manufactured by Kuraray Co. Ltd. ofJapan under the trade name VECTRAN®); and ceramic fibers (such as thethose manufactured by 3M Ceramic Fiber Products under the trade nameNEXTEL®). Other suitable fibers may also be used based on desirable highstiffness and high strength-to-weight ratios.

Exemplary machines capable of weaving warp and weft layers at desiredangles may be of the kind described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,703,631,4,872,323, 5,788,804, 5,809,805, 6,000,055, 6,276,174, 6,711,919,6,993,939, and 7,533,545, U.S. Patent Application PublicationUS2010/0154621, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated byreference into this application in their entirety. Companies whichmarket and manufacture suitable exemplary machines 10 may include, forexample, Liba Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik.A suitable machine 100 may also lay fabrics in numerous patterns andintervals.

In one exemplary embodiment, machine 100 may incorporate multiple weftinsertion carriages which may be computer operated and controlled to layfabric in the weft at angles less than 90 degrees to the warp layer,such as, for example, between about −30 degrees and about +30 degrees.

In a preferred embodiment, an exemplary machine 100 may be a CopcentraMax 3 CNC manufactured by Liba Maschinenfabrik GmbH of Naila Germany.

Post-treatment of fabrics made using an exemplary machine 100 may beaccomplished through use intermingling resins, polymers, thermoplastics,or thermosetting materials within the variable angled weft insertions toincrease the bonding between the adjacent layers of fabric. It is alsoknown to coat the outer surfaces of fibers with such products, such aspolyolefins, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and PVA derivatives, polyamides,polyfluoro-carbons, silicones, glycols, ethylene co-polypropylene,polyacrylates, polyesters, polyacrylics, epoxies, phenolics and rubbers.Application of heat, calendaring, lamination, or combinations of theaforementioned treatments following intermixing of previously describedproducts with the fabric layers may increase rigidity and may provideadditional antiballistic strength.

Returning to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, an exemplary fiberlaying machine 100 may comprise a belt 1 disposed between parallel,motive chain-rows of transport needles 2 that are operably connected toconveyor 11 to displace fiber layers that are laid atop the belt 1surface and anchored about one or more needles 2. Fibers are anchoredabout needles 2 by weft stations 5, 10, 15, and 20 while being moveddownstream towards knitting station 12 where the final fabric 50 formedfrom the layering of the weft stations is collected about rollers 60 forfurther use. An exemplary row of transport needles 2 may comprise amotive chain of needles separated from adjacent needles on the chain indefined intervals, such as 0.10 inches to an inch, preferably 0.10 inch.

According to the illustrative embodiment, each weft station 5, 10, 15,and 20 may traverse the surface of belt 1 while operatively enabling thetransverse displacement of a shog 8. According to this exemplaryoperation, a weft station may move up and down belt 1 while moving shog8 perpendicularly to belt 1 and thereby lay fibers at varying anglesacross the belt surface in the weft. In another exemplary embodiment,each weft station 5, 10, 15, 20 may have a maximum lateral displacementabout belt 1 so as to provide adequate distance to lay fiber at adesired angle. In yet another exemplary embodiment, more than four weftstations may be utilized depending on the size of belt 1 and desiredamount of weft fibers to be laid. In a preferred embodiment, machine 100may be extended to have up to six weft stations suitably placed toachieve any of the embodiments disclosed. Those skilled in the art mayincorporate additional weft stations as necessary to achieve additionaladvantages using the embodiments disclosed herein.

In a preferred embodiment, the weft stations may be spaced apartdepending on the insertion width. The insertion width is contingent onthe denier yarn in use and the desired angle from the warp.

An exemplary machine 100 receives fiber from one or more fiber sources7, which in a preferred embodiment may be creels 3 disposed on or withina creel station. An exemplary fiber source 7 may be situated in anysuitable location either on or adjacent to machine 100 to properlysupply fabric thereto. According to an illustrative embodiment, fibers4, 9, 14, and 19 may be provided to weft stations 5, 10, 15, and 20,respectively, from creels 3 of fiber sources 7. While being suppliedwith the fiber from the fiber source, an exemplary weft station5/10/15/20 and its corresponding shog 8 may be moved to anchor fiberabout transport needles 2 on the periphery of belt 1 and lay theanchored fibers across the belt to the opposite row of transport needles2 to create a weft layer of fibers at a particular fiber angle. Inoperation, each weft fiber layer produced by weft station 25 may beoverlapped by a weft fiber layer produced by weft station 30, thecombination of which may be overlapped by a weft fiber layer produced byweft station 35, and the prior overlapping layers being furtheroverlapped by a weft fiber layer produced by weft station 40. As thelayers exit machine 100 from the knitting system, they are detached fromtheir mooring about one or more transport needles 2 by fabric edgecutters 58, which may be located in bays adjacent the transport needles2.

According to a preferred embodiment, machine 100 may create anantiballistic fabric 50 using combination of overlapped layers producedby a first weft fiber layer 25 that is angled at about −30 degrees fromthe warp, a second weft fiber layer 30 that is angled at about +45degrees from the warp, a third weft fiber layer 35 that is angled atabout −45 degrees from the warp, and a fourth weft fiber layer 40 thatis angled at about +60 degrees from the warp.

An exemplary knitting station 12 may be used to insert fibers throughthe overlapping weft layers formed upstream from the weft insertionstations. An exemplary knitting station 12 may incorporate z-stitching,tricot stitching, chain stitching, quilting, knitting, needle felting,needling, or needle-punching or other three-dimensional weavingtechniques known to those skilled in the art to enhance thefiber-to-fiber interaction of the laid fabrics for anti-ballisticpurposes. Examples of z-stitching or chain stitching may be found inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,526,862, 7,631,405, 5,540,260, 5,137,058, andInternational Patent Application Publication Numbers WO92/14876,WO12/16046, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated byreference into this application in their entirety.

In a preferred embodiment, antiballistic fabric 50 may be formed fromoverlapping layers of weft fabric at about +60 degrees, about −45degrees, about +45 degrees, and about −30 degrees, each from the warp,that may be chain stitched and z-stitched within knitting station 12using fabric 44A and 44B from fabric source 45. Fabric source 45 may bea similar fabric supply apparatus to that used as fabric source 7 andhave similar or alternatively configured creels 6. Alternatively fabricsource 45 may be a series of guide bars and rollers feeding fabric 44Aand 44B to knitting station 12.

In an exemplary antiballistic fabric 50, the weft fabric layers areinserted across belt 1 of machine 100 so that between the top and theimmediately preceding intermediary layer and the bottom and itsimmediately preceding intermediary layer there are no complementaryangles.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative embodiment of a portion of a knitting station12 comprising a plurality of compound needles 13 attached to a sinkerarm apparatus 61. In operation, the sinker arm apparatus 61 moves theneedle 13 into the fabric layers that are a result of the fiber layingconfiguration of the weft stations. As needle 13 is passed through thefabric layers, it is brought into contact with knitting fabrics 44A and44B supplied via guides 64 and 63, respectively. In an exemplaryembodiment, knitting fabric 44A may be used for z-stitching the fabriclayers. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, knitting fabric 44B maybe used for chain stitching the fabric layers. Threading sinkerapparatus 62 may also be provided to supply a warp thread atop the weftlayers that may also be knitted to the same via the combined operationof knitting fabric 44A and/or 44B, sinker arm 61, and needle 13. Byretracting needle 13 back through the fabric layers, sinker arm 61 alsocauses knitting fabric 44A or 44B to be passed through the fabric layersas it is held by needle 13. Repetition of the aforementioned sequencemay form z-stitches in the fabric layers creating a three-dimensionalfabric matrix, which may be seen with reference to FIG. 3. In addition,according to an exemplary embodiment, repetition of the aforementionedsequence may also provide chain stitching in conjunction withz-stitching to further enhance the three-dimensional fabric matrix,which may also be seen with reference to FIG. 3.

According to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 3, an exemplaryantiballistic fabric ply 50 may be comprised of at least four layers ofweft-laid fabric 25, 30, 35, and 40. The layers of weft-laid fabric maybe held in the z-direction by knitting fibers 44A or the combination ofknitting fibers 44A and 44B.

An exemplary antiballistic fabric may be comprised of a plurality offabric plies 50 stacked one on top of the other so that the upper-mostfabric layer of one is in contact with the bottom-most fabric layer ofanother. These plies may be held together by perimeter stitching,quilting, or other known techniques.

With reference to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 4, the plies 50may be separated from one another by intermediary layers 70 such aspolymers, additional woven or non-woven fabrics, and other materials toincrease bonding, rigidity, flexibility, or a combination of suchparameters.

In another exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4, intermediary layersmay be resins, polymers, thermoplastics, thermosets, woven fabrics,non-woven fabrics, rubber, and stainless steel or other metallicstrands. In another preferred embodiment, a polymer veil may be insertedbetween each of the fabric layers or may be inserted every other fabriclayer to promote further bonding, rigidity, or reduction in back facesignature. An exemplary polymer veil is known to those skilled in theart, but may preferably be Spungefab of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

In another exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4, six fabric pliesmay be made up of four layers of 200-3000 denier aramid fibers laidacross the weft at −30, +45, −45, +60, in that order from bottom to top,and chain stitched with z-fibers. These fabric layers may be stacked sothat the −30 degree layer of fibers goes on top of the +60 degree layerof fibers of the previous layer. Further, the six fabric plies may havepolymer veil disposed between each fabric ply or in differentarrangements, such as every other fabric ply. The final combination offabric plies and veil may be heated and calendared and then prepared foruse as an antiballistic fabric.

Testing of the multiaxial antiballistic fabric was conducted once atChesapeake Testing of Belcamp, Md. and again at United States BallisticEngineering of Rising Sun, Md. 21911 in accordance with NIJ-STD-0101.06.Results of the testing are tabulated in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, testing of samples having varying denier sizes,fiber type, angles, and arrangement were conducted at two differentfacilities according to NIJ-STD-0101.06. Fabric plies were arranged aseither single plies, sets of two plies (“double” in FIG. 5), and sets ofthree plies (“triple”). As illustrated in FIG. 5, “VEL” indicates use ofpolymer veil after every fabric ply and “VEO” indicates use of polymerveil after every two fabric plies. As noted, testing of samples N-118and N-119 were conducted using projectiles fired at the NIJ IIA and NIJIIIA standard speeds, respectively, to obtain actual backfacedeformation for sample.

With reference to FIG. 5, the testing embodiments noted by Test IDnumbers N-40, N-42, N-59, N-115, N-69, N-70, N-74, and N-113 werecompared to test results of use of DuPont XP™ fabrics published by E. I.du Pont de Nemours and Company, of Wilmington, Del. The comparisonbetween the samples and DuPont XP™ are shown in Table 1:

TABLE 1 NIJ NIJ Bullet Areal V-50 Recommended Design Standard TypeDensity (ft/s) V-50 (ft/s) Test ID number N-42 IIA, II 9 mm 0.85 16551225/1305 DuPont XP ™ 11 layers of XP 300 with 0.89 1536 Trauma Test IDnumber N-40 IIA, II 9 mm 0.95 1748 1225/1305 DuPont XP ™ 7 layers of XP300 with 0.97 1625 Trauma and 9 layers of 1000dn K129 Test ID numberN-59 IIA, II 9 mm 0.98 1716 1225/1305 DuPont XP ™ 19 layers of 100dnK129 0.98 1533 Test ID number N-115 II 357 Mag 1.00 1737 1225/1305DuPont XP ™ 10 layers of S102 with IIA, II 9 mm 1.04 1690 foam Test IDnumber N-69 IIIA 357 Sig 0.99 1750 1470 DuPont XP ™ 11 layers S102 IIA,II 9 mm 1.12 1713 1225/1305 Test ID number N-113 II 357 Mag 0.97 16461430 DuPont XP ™ 9 layers S102 with foam 0.94 1635 Test ID number N-69IIIA 44 Mag 0.99 1665 1430 DuPont XP ™ 10 layers S102 with 3 1.04 1677mm foam Test ID number N-115 IIIA 44 Mag 0.98 1588 1430 DuPont XP ™ 5layers S102 with 7 1.05 1693 layers 600 × 300 and 3 layers S102 Test IDnumber N-70 IIIA 357 Sig 1.12 1793 1430 DuPont XP ™ N/A N/A Test IDnumber N-74 IIIA 357 Sig 1.14 1815 1430 DuPont XP ™ N/A N/A

As shown in FIG. 5 and Table 1, the performance of embodiments ofexemplary antiballistic fabrics illustrated and described with respectto FIGS. 1 through 4 show substantially high V-50 values at relativelylow areal densities and BFS values. For example, embodiments ofantiballistic fabric made in accordance with the disclosures herein havebeen shown to achieve V-50 values that were between 5 and 20% higherthan those required under applicable NIJ standards while having arealdensities below 1.0. For those samples whose areal densities werebetween 1.0 and 1.2, the exemplary antiballistic fabrics were able toachieve V-50 values that were between 22 and 40% higher than thoserequired under applicable NIJ standards.

With reference to FIG. 6, the performance of other embodiments ofexemplary antiballistic fabrics illustrated and described with respectto FIGS. 1 through 4 have been conducted in which woven fabric has beenused between the plies and no polymer has been used between the plies.The tests of these exemplary embodiments of multiaxial antiballisticfabric were conducted at Chesapeake Testing of Belcamp, Md. and again atUnited States Ballistic Engineering of Rising Sun, Md. 21911 inaccordance with NIJ-STD-0101.06.

As disclosed above and with continued reference to FIG. 6, intermediarylayers of woven fabric, such as a variegated structure woven in thefabric and adapted to control a parameter of the textile construction(the parameter may be strength, breathability, and/or other properties)that is manufactured by Absecon Mills, Inc. of Cologne, N.J., have beenused between the plies, although other woven fabrics known to thoseskilled in the art may be used as well. Using knitting techniquespreviously disclosed, an exemplary antiballistic fabric of the type madewithout polymer between the plies and tested as shown in FIG. 6 providesincreased flexibility, reduced cost, reduced weight, improved back facesignature for an exemplary antiballistic fabric manufactured in suchfashion.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription and interrelated disclosures of the various disclosedembodiments and figures. Indeed, those skilled in the art willrecognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routineexperimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments described.Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the following claims.The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An antiballistic fabric, comprising: afirst fabric ply comprised of two outer layers separated by at least oneinner layer, wherein at least one of the two outer layers and the atleast one inner layer are constructed only from weft fibers laid atangles between about +30 and −30 degrees from the warp, the angle of theweft fibers of at least one of the two outer fabric layers being notcomplementary to the angle of the weft fibers of the at least one innerfabric layer, the two outer fabric layers and the at least one innerfabric layer being knitted together in the z-direction; a second fabricply comprised of two outer fabric layers separated by at least one innerfabric layer, wherein at least one of the two outer fabric layers andthe at least one inner fabric layer are constructed only from weftfibers laid at angles between about +30 and −30 degrees from the warp,the angle of the weft fibers of at least one of the two outer fabriclayers being not complementary to the angle of the weft fibers of the atleast one inner fabric layer, the two outer fabric layers and the atleast one inner fabric layer being knitted together in the z-direction,wherein the lower-most outer fabric layer of the second fabric ply isaligned above the upper-most fabric layer of the first fabric ply, thefirst fabric ply and the second fabric ply being connected together; anda woven fabric intermediary layer between the first and the secondfabric plies.
 2. The antiballistic fabric of claim 1, further comprisinga plurality of fabric layers equivalent to one of the first fabric plyand the second fabric ply disposed between the first fabric ply and thesecond fabric ply.
 3. The antiballistic fabric of claim 2, wherein thefirst fabric ply is comprised of four fabric layers.
 4. Theantiballistic fabric of claim 3, wherein the second fabric ply iscomprised of four fabric layers.
 5. The antiballistic fabric of claim 4,wherein the first fabric ply is comprised of an upper layer, anupper-intermediate layer, a bottom-intermediate layer, and a bottomlayer, the upper layer, upper-intermediate layer, bottom-intermediatelayer, and bottom layer being angled at +60 degrees from the warp, −45degrees from the warp, +45 degrees from the warp, and −30 degrees fromthe warp, respectively.
 6. The antiballistic fabric of claim 4, whereinthe second fabric ply is comprised of an upper layer, anupper-intermediate layer, a bottom-intermediate layer, and a bottomlayer, the upper layer, upper-intermediate layer, bottom-intermediatelayer, and bottom layer being angled at +60 degrees from the warp, −45degrees from the warp, +45 degrees from the warp, and −30 degrees fromthe warp, respectively.
 7. The antiballistic fabric of claim 4, whereineach of the plurality of fabric layers is comprised of an upper layer,an upper-intermediate layer, a bottom-intermediate layer, and a bottomlayer, the upper layer, upper-intermediate layer, bottom-intermediatelayer, and bottom layer being angled at +60 degrees from the warp, −45degrees from the warp, +45 degrees from the warp, and −30 degrees fromthe warp, respectively.
 8. The antiballistic fabric of claim 2, furthercomprising an additional woven fabric intermediary layer on one of theplurality of fabric layers.
 9. The antiballistic fabric of claim 1,wherein the areal density is less than about 1.2.
 10. The antiballisticfabric of claim 9, wherein the V-50 is between about 1600 and about 1750feet per second.